KU notes: Young goes to point, for a day

LAWRENCE — Most forwards think of themselves as point guards anyway, so it probably seemed perfectly natural for Kevin Young to be running the offense for Kansas in practice.

The experiment lasted about 10 minutes, coach Bill Self said, so it’s safe to say the 6-foot-8 Young won’t be unseating Elijah Johnson as KU’s starter.

By Johnson’s assessment, though, Young would be capable in an emergency role.

“I respect Kevin so much just for even knowing that after one year and knowing every play coach called and not really looking at me to tell him what to do,” Johnson said. “I respect him for even knowing that much.

“He didn’t really turn the ball over. He got us into offense. He could feed the post better from being on the perimeter. I thought he looked good, honestly.”

The Jayhawks are examining all options to find a secondary ballhandler who can ease the demands on Johnson. Sophomore Naadir Tharpe has filled that role early, but Tharpe is shooting 29 percent from the floor and hasn’t offered much upside on defense.

Freshman Rio Adams presents another option, but the learning curve has been steep enough that Self would consider playing him off the ball and using a veteran like Travis Releford at point guard.

“Maybe we’re looking at it wrong,” Self said. “Maybe we should play Rio but maybe take some pressure off of him and play Travis at the point.

“There are some different things we can do. We just haven’t found the one guy that says hey, you’re (Johnson’s) backup.”

Young probably isn’t the long-term solution, but the opportunity to play point guard in practice is enough to make other big men jealous.

“T-Rob (Thomas Robinson) would have loved that,” Johnson said.

JOHNSON OK AFTER FALL: Johnson hit the court hard after going up for a dunk during Friday’s game against Oregon State at Sprint Center. The fall left him momentarily dazed but not seriously injured.

“I felt like I tried to get up and I got up in like two seconds, but I saw it on video and I was down for a while,” Johnson said. “I saw the fall, but I really don’t remember it. I was just playing.”

Johnson came away with a sore tailbone and a bruise on his shooting hand, but nothing worse.

“My wrist was a little jacked up,” he said. “I took a hard fall, but it wasn’t going to stop me from playing the rest of the game.”

Johnson also has been battling soreness in his left knee, the same knee on which he had arthroscopic surgery in the offseason.

“It’s not bad,” Johnson said. “I feel like I’m getting stronger. I’m getting used to playing as long as I’m playing and taking care of myself.”

BIG 12 TAKES RPI HIT: The early returns haven’t been great for the Big 12 on the basketball court. The league has suffered some ugly nonconference losses — College of Charleston over Baylor, Chaminade over Texas and Houston over TCU, to name a few — without many marquee wins.

Oklahoma State, which beat North Carolina State 76-56, might have the league’s best win, Self said.

“We haven’t gotten off to a good start,” Self said. “What amazes me about leagues — if you don’t play good in November and December, then your league is going to have the appearance of being not very strong. If you play great in those months, your league is going to have the appearance of being great, even if it’s not, in January and February and March.”

The Big 12 currently sits seventh in conference RPI behind the Atlantic 10 and Mountain West.